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Should First Trust Mid Cap Value AlphaDEX ETF (FNK) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Mid Cap Value segment of the US equity market, the First Trust Mid Cap Value AlphaDEX ETF (FNK - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 04/19/2011.

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $235.15 million, making it one of the smaller ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Value

With market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion, mid cap companies usually contain higher growth prospects than large cap companies, and are considered less risky than their small cap counterparts. These types of companies, then, have a good balance of stability and growth potential.

Carrying lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, value stocks also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. While value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets when you consider long-term performance, growth stocks are more likely to outpace value stocks in strong bull markets.

Costs

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.70%, making it the most expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.58%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 21.80% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Energy round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, New Fortress Energy Inc. (NFE - Free Report) accounts for about 1.25% of total assets, followed by Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN - Free Report) and Expand Energy Corporation (EXE - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 9.01% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

FNK seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Value Index before fees and expenses. The NASDAQ AlphaDEX Mid Cap Value Index is an enhanced index which employs the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to select stocks from the NASDAQ US 600 Mid Cap Value Index.

The ETF has added about 3.24% so far this year and was up about 11.72% in the last one year (as of 01/29/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $48.87 and $58.28.

The ETF has a beta of 1.28 and standard deviation of 21.73% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 226 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

First Trust Mid Cap Value AlphaDEX ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, FNK is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Value area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (IWS - Free Report) and the Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF (VOE - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF has $13.98 billion in assets, Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF has $17.83 billion. IWS has an expense ratio of 0.23% and VOE charges 0.07%.

Bottom-Line

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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